Genre

Styles

Cookin'

AllMusic Review
by Stephen Cook

Tommy McCook's history stretches far back in Jamaica's musical lineage. Having already worked for many of the island's premier dance bands during the '50s, McCook returned to Kingston in 1962 after an extended gig in the Bahamas and proceeded to put together the Skatalites band with trombonist Don Drummond and fellow tenor saxophonist Roland Alphonso. McCook would later head up Duke Reid's rocksteady outfit, the Supersonics, and contribute to countless sessions by some of Jamaica's most storied singers and instrumentalists. The tenor man would later hook up with producer Bunny Lee for a slew of dates in the '70s. During this time, McCook also cut many of his own instrumental dates with Lee's favored studio band, the Aggrovators -- Trojan's Cookin' was one of his finest. Also featuring such stellar Aggrovators as the rhythm tandem of brothers Carlton "Carlie" Barrett on drums and Aston "Familyman" Barrett on bass, guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith, and pianist Winston Wright, Cookin' finds McCook in top form on a series of quality solos. A must for McCook fans.